Hosted Public Facing Website Solution

The vendor required to provide website management system and mass notification platform designed for k-12 school divisions.
- The system must support 50+ school sites under one district and provide robust emergency communication capabilities.
•    A centralized platform for managing district and school websites. 
•    A mass notification system capable of delivering urgent and routine messages across multiple channels. 
•    Integration with existing systems (microsoft 365, google workspace, sis such as PowerSchool) 
•    Hosting in data centers with full compliance to agency.
- Technical requirements
1. Website management system
•    Unified CMS: single dashboard for all district and school websites.
•    Real-time publishing: instant propagation of updates across all sites.
•    Role-based access control (RBAC):
o    Granular permissions beyond basic roles (admin, editor, contributor).
o    Custom role creation scoped to school sites, modules, and workflows.
o    Temporary elevated permissions for emergencies.
•    Workflow management: draft, review, and approval processes.
o    Accessibility and compliance
•    WCAG 2.1 level aa compliance.
•    Multilingual support (english and French minimum).
•    Full screen reader compatibility.
o    Responsive design
•    Mobile-first approach for smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
•    Cross-browser compatibility (chrome, edge, safari, Firefox).
o    Integration capabilities
•    Microsoft 365 and google workspace embedding and authentication.
•    Sis integration for real-time data sync.
•    API access:
o    Restful APIs for all major functions (content, notifications, analytics).
o    Secure authentication.
o    Webhooks for event-driven automation.
o    Security
•    Https and TLS encryption for all traffic.
•    Single sign-on (SSO) via microsoft Entra id and google Oauth.
•    Audit logging for administrative actions.
2. Mass notification system
•    Multi-channel notifications: push, SMS, and email.
•    Emergency alerts: override normal settings for urgent messages.
•    High-volume handling: capable of sending thousands of messages within minutes.
•    Audience segmentation: target by school, grade, or user role.
•    Custom groups: create ad-hoc groups for events or programs.
o    Event and calendar management
•    Centralized calendar for district and school events.
•    External sync with google and outlook calendars.
•    Rsvp and attendance tracking.
o    Analytics and reporting
•    Engagement metrics (open rates, click-through rates, app usage).
•    Dashboard visualization of communication effectiveness.
o    Automated attendance notifications
•    Automated unexcused absence reporting integrated with sis.
3. Hosting and performance
•    Cloud hosting in data centers.
•    Minimum 99.9% uptime SLA.
•    CDN for fast content delivery.
•    Scalability to handle peak loads during emergencies.
4. Data privacy and compliances
•    Full compliance with privacy laws.
•    Data residency in country.
5. Backup and disaster recovery
•    Daily backups with 30-day retention.
•    Disaster recovery plan with RTO under 4 hours.
6. Integration and interoperability
•    Restful APIS for third-party systems.
•    Sis integration for real-time student data sync.
•    Widget support for social media feeds, video players, and external tools.
7. Intellectual property and end-of-contract handoff
•    All content created within the platform remains the property of agency.
•    Vendor must guarantee no reuse or redistribution without written consent.
•    At contract end, vendor must provide:
o    Complete export of all content and data in non-proprietary formats (xml, csv, html).
o    Media assets, templates, configuration settings, and historical analytics.
o    Documentation for re-import into another system.
8. Staff training
•    Comprehensive onboarding for district and school-level staff.
•    Training formats:
o    Live virtual sessions and recorded modules.
o    Role-specific training (admin vs. Editor vs. Contributor).
•    Provide user manuals and quick-start guides.
•    Annual refresher training or upon major updates.

- Contract Period/Term: 3 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: January 22, 2026